Shaft furnaces



May 31, 1966 E. JUNKER ETAL SHAFT FURNACES 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May26, 19 4 F ig] May 31, 1966 E. JUNKER ETAL SHAFT FURNACES 4 Sheets-Sheet2 Filed May 26, 1964 IN VE N TOPS EIHJ' MAA-7 SHAFT FURNACES 4Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 26, 1964 LIIUU United States Patent 3,253,823SHAFT FURNACES Ernst Junker, Siegen, Westphalia, and WernerSchrnallenbach, Netphen, Germany, assignors to Kdlsch-Folzer- WerkeAktiengesellschaft, Siegen, Westphalia, Germany Filed May 26, 1964, Ser.No. 370,218 Claims priority, application Germany, May 28, 1963, K49,845; Jan. 27, 1964, K 51,944, K 51,945,

13 Claims. c1. 26329) The present invention relates to shaft furnaces ingeneral and to blast furnaces in particular.

It is well known to introduce the charge into a blast furnace or othershaft furnace through the top end thereof, and in order to protect thewall of the furnace it 1s provided at its interior with a relativelyrigid skirt or with another rigid inner wall structure forming a wearplate assembly against which the particles of the charge can strike sothat in this way the furnace wall itself is protected from engagementswith the charge when it is introduced into the furnace.

The wear plate assembly of such a shaft furnace has of.

course the purpose of protecting the wall of the furnace or the platingor other armor which covers the wall of the furnace against beingdamaged by the charge when it is introduced into the furnace. Dependingupon the height through which the particles of the charge fall, as wellas the angle at which the charge pours into the furnace and theparticular weight of the components of the charge, these particles ofthe charge will strike against and rebound from the wear plate assemblyat different angles and will reach different zones of the cross sectionof the furnace. It is however required that a shaft furnace have auniform, regular distribution of the charge throughout the crosssectional area of the furnace, so as to avoid in this way a non-uniformdistribution of the charge, and so as to avoid in the case of a blastfurnace an unmixing of the burden. In order to achieve this result ithas already been proposed to provide blast furnaces with wear plateassemblies which are adjustable to a slight extent but which in allcases are extremely heavy assemblies requiring a great deal of power tocarry out even the limited extent of adjustment which is presentlyavailable with such known structures. The required power is essentialnot only because of the weight of the structure but also in order toovercome the friction with which sliding members engage each other.

It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to providefor shaft furnaces an adjustable wear plate assembly which will avoidall of the above drawbacks.

Thus, the objects of the present invention include the provision of awear plate assembly which is quite simple and comparatively light andwhich on the other hand is still capable of withstanding the stressesencountered during operation of the furnace, while at the same timebeing capable of adjusting the diameter of the furnace in the region ofthe wear plate assembly to an extent which has heretofore not beenpossible.

It is also an object of the invention to provide for a shaft furnace awear plate assembly which forms an adjustable inner wall structuresurrounding the axis of the furnace and capable not only of having itsdiameter adjusted but which in addition lends itself very easily toadjustment which will provide the inner wall formed by the wear plateassembly with a taper giving the inner wall the configuration of afunnel, for example.

In addition, it is an object of the invention to provide .a structurewhich can accomplish the above objects while at the same time beingcomposed of simple, light, rugged elements which can be easily andquickly assembled and disassembled and which can be very easilyadjusted.

With the above objects in view the invention includes, in a shaftfurnace, an outer furnace wall surrounding a central axis of the furnaceand having a top end to which a top wall of the furnace is fixed. Withinthe outer furnace wall is situated a wear plate means constituted by aplurailty of individual platesdistributed about the axis of the furnaceand overlapping each other to form a substantially continuous inner wallsurrounding the axis of the furnace and surrounded by and spaced fromthe outer wall. A linkage means is operatively connected to at leastsome of the plates of the wear plate means for adjusting the distancebetween the outer' wall and the plates of the wear plate means so thatin this way the diameter of the continuous inner wall formed by the wearplate means can be regulated.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method-ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood from the following description of specificembodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional elevation of that part of ashaft furnace which includes the structure of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view of the structure ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of another embodiment of astructure according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of still another embodimentof a structure according to the invention, FIGS. 3 and 4 also showingonly that part of a shaft furnace which includes the structure of theinvention;

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional plan view fragmentarily illustratingthe structure of .the embodiment of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional elevation showing yet anotherembodiment of a structure according to the invention, FIG. 6 againshowing only that part of a furnace which includes the structure of theinvention;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional plan view of the structure of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 shows one embodiment of a mounting means for use with thestructure of FIGS. 6 and 7 to support some of the plates on otherplates; and

FIG. 9 shows a further embodiment of a mounting I means for mountingsome of the plates on other plates.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is fragmentarily illustratedtherein the outer Wall 9 of a blast furnace, this outer wall 9surrounding the central vertical axis of the furnace in a well knownmanner and having connected to its top end a top wall of frustoconicalconfiguration as shown, this top wall carrying a conventional chargingmeans CH of the bell-and-hopper type of distributor for distributing thecharge CH downwardly into the interior of the furnace by temporarilylowering the bell relative to the hopper, as is well known in the art.

Situated within the furnace adjacent its top end is a wear plate meansconstituted by a plurality of individual plates 1 and 1a which arelocated closely adjacent to each other and which are distributed aboutthe central axis of the furnace, as shown in FIG. 2, so that theplurality of plates of the wear plate means form a substantiallycontinuous inner wall which is surrounded by and spaced from the outerwall and which surrounds the central axis of the furnace. The structureof the present invention includes not only the wear plate means but alsothe structure for adjusting the wear plate means between the solidPatented May 31, 1966 and dotted line positions indicated in FIGS. 1 and2, for example, so that the distance of the individual plates from thecentral axis of the furnace can be adjusted. This adjustment is broughtabout by a linkage means, including elements such as the links 2 and 3shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and this linkage means is connected to the wearplate means 1, 1a for adjusting the position of the latter with respectto the central axis of the furnace so as in this way to adjust thediameter of the inner wall formed by the plurality of plates whichconstitute the wear plate means.

The plates 1 and 1a of the wear plate means are of a substantiallyrectangular configuration. They are slightly curved so as to have innerconcave'surfaces directed toward the axis of the furnace and outerconvex surfaces directed toward and conforming substantially to thecurvature of the outer wall 9 of the furnace. The radius of curvature ofthe plates 1 and 1a is equal to the radius of the continuous inner wallformed by the plates 1 and 1a when they are at an average positionbetween the axis of the furnace and the outer wall thereof. Thus, theseveral plates 1 and 1a form a tubular wall assembly and these plateshave vertical side edges overlapping each other so that the burden ofthe furnace, particularly when it is introduced into the furnace by thedistributor at the top thereof, cannot have access to the space betweenthe inner continuous wall 1, 1a and the outer wall 9.

As is apparent particularly from FIG. 2 the several plates 1 and 1a arearranged in such a way that the plates 1a are spaced from each other andare uniformly distributed about the axis of the furnace inwardly of theplates 1 which are also spaced from each other and uniformly distributedabout the axis of the furnace, with the plates 1 respectively coveringthe gaps between the plates 1a and the plates 1a respectively coveringthe gaps between the plates 1 so that the opposed side edges of theseveral plates 1a are located inwardly of and overlap the opposed sideedges of the outer series of plates 1. The plates 1 and 1a are shownslightly spaced from each other in FIG. 2 only for the sake of clarity.Actually these plates directly engage eachother and there is no spacingbetween the several plates so that they do indeed form a continuousinner wall as mentioned above.

In the particular example which is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, thelinkage means includes a pair of upper links 3 having inner endspivotally connected to each of the plates 1 and 1a of the wear platemeans 1, 1a, and also a pair of lower links 3 each having inner endspivotally connected to the several plates 1 and 1a. Thus, for each ofthe plates 1 and In there is an upper pair of links 3 and a lower pairof links 3 with the lower pair of links situated beneath the upper pairof links in the manner shown in FIG. 1. Furthermore, there is pivotallyconnected to a central upper part of each of the plates 1 and 1a asupporting link 2 which has an upper end pivotally connected directly tothe top wall of the furnace. The several pairs of links 3 have outerends, and the outer ends of all of the upper links 3 are pivotallyconnected to an upper ring 4, while the outer ends of all of the lowerlinks 3 are pivotally connected to a lower ring 4. The upper and lowerrings 4 are maintained spaced from each other by a plurality of spacerrods 5 respectively fixed at their upper ends to the upper ring 4 and totheir lower ends to the lower ring 4, and these spacer rods 5 areuniformly distributed about the central axis of the fur nace. In thisway the spacing between the rings 4 is maintained constant.

A means is provided for raising and lowering the rings 4 so that in thisway the position of the wear plate means relative to the furnace axiscan be adjusted, and this means for adjusting the elevation of the rings4 in the illustrated example takes the form of a plurality of rods 6which are uniformly distributed about the furnace axis and which arefixed at their bottom ends to the upper ring 4. Any suitable supportingstructure supports at the exterior of the furnace a plurality of movingmeans 7 in the form of hydraulic, pneumatic, or mechanical assembliesoperatively connected to the several rods 6 for raising or lowering thesame, so that through this raising or lowering of the several rods 6,during which they move substantially along their axes, respectively, therings 4 are raised and lowered and thus the inclination of the links 2and 3 is changed so as to control the positions of the several plates ofthe wear plate means 1, 1a. Although the spacer rods 5 can be separatefrom the raising and lowering rods 6, it is preferred to make the rods 5continuations of the rods 6 so that they are made in one piece with theseveral rods 6.

In order to avoid rotary movement of the rings 4, the outer wall 9 ofthe furnace carries a guide means 8 which cooperates with the rings 4inorder to guide the latter only for vertical movement. Thus, as is shownin FIGS. 1 and 2 the guide means includes a plurality of elongatedmembers 8 fixedly carried by the wall 9 at its interior and respectivelyformed with V-grooves directed toward and extending substantiallyparallel to the axis of the furnace, and the rings 4 carry substantiallyV-shaped members extending into the grooves of the guide members 8 andslidably engaging the latter so that in this way the rings 4 will beguided for vertical movement but will be prevented from turning aboutthe central axis of the furnace.

The several rods 6 respectively pass through suitable stufiing boxes orother sealing glands 10, so as to maintain a fluid-tight separationbetween the interior and exterior of the furnace at the places where therods 6 pass to the exterior of the furnace to be connected to theseveral moving means 7.

If, for example, the several rods 6 are raised by the distance b, thenthe plates 1 and 1a are displaced from their positions shown in solidlines to the positions shown in dotted lines, and it will be seen thatwhile the inclination of the plates 1 does not change nevertheless theymove inwardly toward the axis of the furnace to the dotted line positionindicated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vertical displacement through thedistance b of the rods 6 (and of course the rings 4 and spacer members 5therewith) resulting in displacement of the plates 1, 1a through thedistance a, and of course the several links 2 and 3 will turn from thesolid line positions to the dotted line positions indicated most clearlyin FIG. 1. It is believed to be apparent that in the illustrated examplethe pairs of links 3 together with the plates 1 and 1a form a series ofparallelogram linkages where the angle between the plates 1 and 1a, onthe one hand, and the wall 9 on the other hand will not change during achange in the inclination of the several links 3 in order to produce theadjustment indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Thus, with this construction thecontinuous inner wall formed by the several plates of the wear platemeans 1, 1a can assume a position providing the relatively large innerdiameter D or the relatively small inner diameter d. It is emphasized,however, that these positions do not illustrate the end positions of theplates 1 and 1a, since the diameter can be reduced still further byraising the rods 6 to a greater extent, and on the other hand bylowering the rods 6 to a position lower than illustrated in solid lines,it is possible to increase the diameter beyond the largest diametershown in FIGS. 1 and 2. However, in practice the range of adjustmentillustrated in the drawings will suffice for most purposes, and it isapparent that with this construction the plates 1 can be adjusted notonly between the solid and dotted line positions but also to anyposition in between these latter positions.

By decreasing the length of the upper links 3 with respect to the lengthof the lower links 3 it is possible also to provide the plates 1 and 1awith inclined positions so that the several plates form a substantiallyfunnel-shaped wall which tapers in a downward direction. Instead ofsimply making the upper links 3 shorter than the lower links for thispurpose, it is also possible to provide each of the upper links 3 with aturnbuckle construction enabling the length of the upper links to beadjusted so as to provide a selected inclination of the several plates 1and 1a.

In the embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in FIG. 3 eachof the plates 1 and 1a also has a pair of upper links 3 and a pair oflower links 3 pivotally connected thereto, as illustrated in FIG. 3, butin this case the links 3 are directly connected pivotally to the outerwall 9 of the furnace, this outer wall carrying suitable brackets- 11 towhich the outer ends of the links 3 are pivotally connected asillustrated in FIG. 3. Thu-s, with this embodiment there are no rings 4or any guide means 8.

The several plates of the wear plate means of FIG. 3 are respectivelysupported by a plurality of supporting links 12 which are pivotallyconnected at their lower ends to the top ends of the several plates inthe manner described above in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2. However, inthe embodiment of FIG. 3 the upper ends of the links 12 are pivotallyconnected to a ring 13 which is quite rigid and which is situated withinthe upper end of the furnace, as illustrated in FIG. 3. In this case theseveral rods 6 which serve to raise and lower the linkage means aredirectly connected to the rigid ring 13 and extend through suitablesealing glands to the exterior of the furnace where the several rods 6are operatively connected with the several devices 7 for raising andlowering the rods 6, as mentioned above in connection with FIG. 1. Thus,with this embodiment in response to upward or downwardmovementof therods 6, which also are uniformly distributed about the axis of thefurnace, the ring 13 will be raised and lowered with the result that thesupporting links 12 will be raised and lowered so that the links 3 canturn, for example, between the solid and dotted line positionsillustrated in-FIG. 3 providing the continuous inner wall formed by theplates of the wear plate means with a range of diameters extending, forexample, between -the diameters D and d.

The outer wall 9 of the furnace of FIG. 3 carries a plurality of guidemembers 14 distributed about the axis .of the furnace and cooperatingwith the ring 13 to guide the latter for vertical movement whilepreventing rotary movement of the ring 13. This guiding structure can,for example, correspond to the guiding structure shown in FIGS. 1 and 2to guide the rings 4 for vertical movement while preventing rotarymovement thereof.

Thus, the sinking of the ring 13 from the solid to the dotted lineposition illustrated in FIG. 3 will result in a reduction in thediameter of the wear plate means by twice the distance a indicated inFIG. 3, and at this smaller diameter the parts will have the dotted lineposition shown in FIG. 3.

By shortening either the upper or the lower links 3 the several platesof the wear plate means can be given any desired inclination.

In the event that the parts are to be subjected only to relatively smallor normal stresses, it is possible to use only a single pair of links 3connected to each of the plates of the wear plate means.

In the embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5the plates 1 and 1a also constitute a wear plate means capable of beingmoved toward and away from the central axis while forming a continuousinner wall surrounded by and spaced from the outer wall 9 ofthe furnaceand capable of having its diameter adjusted as shown by the solid anddotted line positions of the plates 1 and 1a in FIG. 5. However, withthis embodiment the links 3 of the linkage means are connected only tothe outer series of plates 1,.and a mounting means mounts the innerplates 1a against the outer plates 1 for sliding overlapping movementrelative thereto.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5 all of the plates are connected attheir upper central end portions to the lower ends of links 2 whichextend upwardly from the several plates 1 and 1a and are pivotallyconnected to the roof or top wall of the furnace.

However, in this embodiment a pair of upper links 3 and a pair of lowerlinks 3 are pivotally connected at their inner ends only to each of theplates 1 which alternate with the plates 1a and which are locatedoutwardly of the plates 1a, as described above. These upper and lowerpairs of links 3 form in this particular embodiment inner pairs oflinks, and the outer ends of the inner links are pivotally connected toinner ends of upper and lower outer pairs of links 3a (FIG. 4) which arein turn pivotally connected at their outer ends to brackets 15 fixedlycarried by the outer wall 9 of the furnace. The pivotal connectionsbetween the upper pairs of inner and outer links 3 and 3a and the lowerpairs of inner and outer links 3 and 3a are interconnected by anelongated spacer rod 4a so that the distance between these pivotalconnections between the inner and outer pairs of links is fixed inaccordance with the length of the rod 4a. A plurality of elongated rods4b which respectively form substantial extensions of the rods 4a arepivotally connected at their bottom ends only to the pivotal connectionsbetween the upper pairs of inner and outer links 3 and 3a, and severalrods 4b are pivotally connected at their upper ends to a rigid ring 16which is fixed to the bottom ends of a plurality of elongated rods 18which extend through suitable sealing glands to the exterior of thefurnace where they are operatively connected with moving meanscorresponding to the moving means 7 and being any suitable hydraulic,pneumatic, or mechanical structure for raising and lowering the rods 18so as to also raise and lower the ring 16. This ring 16 is guided by aguide means 17 fixedly carried by the outer furnace wall and having astructure similar to that of the guide means 8 described above inconnection with FIGS. 1 and 2. Thus, the guide means 17 prevents thering 16 from turning so that the ring 16 can only move up and down inresponse to up and down movement of the rods 18, and this will result ina change in the elevation of the connections between the-inner and outerpairs of links 3 and 3a so that in this way the series of plates 1 andlot can have their distance from the central axis of the furnaceadjusted.

Thus, when the ring 16 is moved upwardly, for example, through thedistance b shown in FIG 4, from the solid to the dotted line position,the plates 1 and 1a as well as the links 3 and 3a and the rods 4a and4b, as well as the supporting links 2, all move from the solid to thedotted line position, and thus the plates 1 and 1a of the wear platemeans move through the radial distance a inwardly toward the axis of thefurnace so that the diameter of the inner wall formed by the wear platemeans 1, 1a diminishes from D to d. i

If either the upper pairs of links 3 and 3a or the lower pairs of links3 and 3a are made smaller, then of course the plates will be given acertain inclination. According to a preferred construction of theinvention each link 3 and 3a includes a pair of rod portions havingoppositely threaded ends received in a conventional turnbuckle so thatby operation of the turnbuckle it is possible to adjust the length ofthe links 3 and 3a.

The mounting means 19, 20 for mounting the plates 1a against the plates1 for slidable movement relative thereto includes the pins 20 which arefixed to and project from the several plates 1 toward the wall 9 of thefurnace, while .the elongated horizontal members 19 are fixed to theinner plates 1a and have downwardly directed horizontal edges capable ofriding on the pins 20, so that in this way the'outer side edges-of theouter plates 1 are confined between the plates 1a and the members 19 soas to maintain the parts in sliding overlapping relationship even thoughthe inner plates are not connected by any links 3 or 3a to the wall 9.As is apparent from FIG. 9 the outer ends of the horizontal members 19can have downwardly directed extensions limiting the extent to which theplates 1 and 1a can move in the direction which increases the diameterof the inner wall formed by the series of plates 1 and 1a.

The embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 isquite similar to that of FIGS. 1 and 2, particularly with respect to theouter plates 1. These outer plates 1 are connected in the same way as inFIGS. 1 and 2 by upper and lower pairs of links 3 to upper and lowerrings 4 which are spaced from each other by rods 5 and which are movedup and down by the rods 6 which are connected to the upper rings 4 andwhich extend through suitable sealing glands to the moving means 7capable of changing the elevation of the rings 4 which are in turnguided by a guide means 8 which is identical with that of FIGS. 1 and 2.Also, in this embodiment all of the plates '1 and 1a are supported bylinks 2 pivotally connected at their bottom ends of the uppercentralportions of the several plates and pivotally connected at their top endsto the top wall of the furnace. However, in the embodiment of FIGS. 6and 7 the inner plates 1a are not connected by links 3 to the rings 4.Instead these inner plates 1a also carry the horizontal members 19 of amounting means 19, 20 which has the construction described above inconnection with FIGS. 4 and 5. 'Thus, in this case also the outer plates1 carry the pins 20 which cooperate with the horizontal members 19 toform therewith a mounting means maintaining the inner plates in slidableoverlapping relationship with respect to the outer plates.

With the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7, and also with the embodiment ofFIGS. 4 and 5, it is preferred to connect to each of the inner plates apair of horizontal members 19 which cooperate with pins 20 in the mannerdescribed above. Thus, with the embodiments of FIGS. 6 and 7 if therings 4 should be raised through the distance b the parts will move tothe dotted line position where the several plates 1 and 1a have beendisplaced inwardly toward the axis of the furnace by the distance a.

It is to be noted that the embodiments of FIGS. 4-7 can be changed, inaccordance with the invention by omitting the supporting links 2 whichare connected to the inner plates 1a, and instead these inner plates 1acan not only be guided by the mounting means 19, 20 for slidingoverlapping movement with respect to the outer plates 1, but in additionthey can be supported by this mounting means, and in this case themembers 19 would transmit the weight of the plates 1a to the pins 20 sothat in this way the inner plates 1a would also be carried by the outerplates 1. With such a construction it is preferred to provide the guidemembers 19 with the structure shown in FIG. 8 according to which theseguide members 19a instead of simply having upper portions which restwith their lower edges on the pins 20 are formed with slots whichreceive the pins 20 so that in this way the inner plates are maintainedat a given 4 elevation relative to the outer plates even if forces actupwardly on the inner plates tending to raise them upwardly with respectto the outer plates.

It is to be noted that with all of the embodiments a relatively smallextent of vertical movement of the rings will result in a relativelylarge extent of horizontal displacement of the several plates of thewear plate means toward or away from the central axis of the furnace.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofshaft furnaces differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied inblast furnaces, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown,since various modifications and structural changes may be made withoutdeparting in any Way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can by applying current knowledgereadily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a shaft furnace, in combination, an outer furnace wall surroundingthe axis of the furnace, wear plate means including a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced inner individual plates distributed about saidaxis inwardly of said outer wall, and a plurality of circumferentiallyspaced outer individual plates disposed intermediate said outer wall andsaid first plurality of circumferentially spaced inner individualplates, and being of a size adequate to cover the gaps existing betweenthe circumferentially spaced inner plates of said first plurality and topartially overlap said plates thereof, said first and second pluralityof individual plates thus together forming a substantially continuousinner wall forming an inner space surrounding said axis and surroundedby and spaced from said outer wall; charging means for charging fromabove said inner space formed by said wear plate means; and meansoperatively connected to said inner and outer plates so as to enablemovement of said plates parallel to themselves toward and away from thecenter of said furnace while maintaining said plates in overlappingrelationship,

and thereby adjusting the volume of said inner space with-.

in said inner wall, which inner space is charged by said charging means.

2. In a shaft furnace, in combination, an outer furnace wall surroundinga central axis of the furnace, a top wall connected to the top end ofsaid outer wall, wear plate means located between said axis and outerwall and including a plurality of circumferentially spaced innerindividual plates, and a plurality of circumferentially spaced outerindividual plates disposed intermediate said outer wall and said firstplurality of circumferentially spaced inner individual plates, and beingof a size adequate to cover the gaps existing between thecircumferentially spaced inner plates of said first plurality and topartially overlap said plates thereof, said first and second pluralityof individual plates thus together form a substantially continuous innerwall forming an inner space surrounding said axis and surrounded by andspaced from said outer wall; charging means for charging from above saidinner space formed by said wear plate means; and means operativelyconnected to said wear plate means, and at least said top wall so as toenable movement of said plates parallel to themselves toward and awayfrom the center of said furnace 'while maintaining said plates inoverlapping relationship, and thereby adjusting the volume of said innerspace within said inner wall, which inner space is charged by saidcharging means.

3. In a shaft furnace, in combination, an outer wall surrounding acentral axis of the furnace and a top wall connected to a top end ofsaid outer wall; wear plate means surrounded by said outer wall andsurrounding said axis, said wear plate means including a plurality ofindividual plates located closely adjacent to each other and distributedabout said axis to form a substantially continuous inner wall forming aninner space surrounding said axis and surrounded by and spaced from saidouter wall; charging means for charging from above said inner spaceformed by said wear plate means; an upper pair of links and a lower pairof links fixed to each of at least some of said plates of said wearplate means, said upper and lower pairs of links being connected to aplate of said wear plate means at different elevatrons and a supportinglink pivotally connected to said top wall and an upper end of each of atleast some of said plates of said wear plate means, said pairs of upperand lower links respectively having outer ends distant from said wearplate means and located adjacent said outer wall; and means operativelyconnected to said outer ends of said upper and lower pairs of links foradjusting the elevation thereof so as to control the distance betweensaid wear plate means and outer wall and thereby the volume of saidinner space which is formed by said wear plate means, and which ischarged by said charging means.

4. In a shaft furnace, in combination, an outer wall surrounding acentral axis of the furnace and a top wall connected to a top end ofsaid outer wall; wear plate means surrounding said axis and locatedwithin and surrounded by said outer wall, said wear plate meansincluding a plurality of individual plates distributed about said axisand overlapping each other to form a substantially continuous inner wallforming an inner space surrounded by and spaced from said outer wall;charging means for charging from above said inner space formed by saidwear plate means; a pair of upper links pivotally connected to each oneof at least every other plate of said wear plate means; a pair of lowerlinks located beneath said upper links pivotally connected also to eachone of at least every other plate of said wear plate means, said upperand lower pairs of links respectively having outer ends nearer to saidouter wall means than said wear plate means; an upper ring pivotallyconnected to the outer ends of said upper pairs of links and surroundedby and located adjacent said outer wall; a lower ring pivotallyconnected to said outer ends of said lower links and located beneathsaid upper ring; a plurality of supporting links respectively connectedto every other one of said plates of said wear plates means, saidsupporting links being pivotally connected to said top wall and to everyother one of said wear plates so that the latter are suspended from saidsupporting links while a change in the elevation of said rings willdisplace said plates toward or away from said axis, so as to change theextent to which said plates overlap each'other in order to change thediameter of the inner continuous wall formed by said wear plate meansand thereby the volume of said inner space which is formed by said wearplate means, and which is charged by said charging means; and meansoperatively connected to said rings for adjusting the elevation thereof.

5. In a shaft furnace as recited in claim 4, means carried by said outerwall and engaging said rings for preventing turning of the latter.

6. In a shaft furnace, in combination, an outer Wall surrounding acentral axis of the furnace and a top wall fixed to a top end of saidouter wall; wear plate means located within and surrounded by said outerwall, said wear plate means surrounding said axis and being constitutedby a plurality of individual plates which are distributed about saidaxis and overlap each other to form a substantially continuous innerwall forming an inner space surrounding said axis; charging means forcharging from above said inner space formed by said wear plate means; aplurality'of pairs of upper links respectively having inner endspivotally connected to at least every other one of said plates of saidwear plate means; a plurality of lower pairs of links also having innerends respectively pivotally connected to the plates to which said upperpairs of links are pivotally connected, respectively, said lower pairsof links being respectively situated beneath said upper pairs of links;an upper ring surrounding and pivotally connected to outer ends of saidupper pairs of links; a lower ring situated beneath said upper ring andsurrounding and pivotally connected to outer ends of said lower pairs oflinks; spacing means maintaining said upper and lower rings at all timesat a predetermined distance from each other; supporting linksrespectively having lower ends pivotally connected ot the same platesthat said upper pairs of links are pivotally 'connected to,respectively, said supporting links respectively having upper endspivotally connected to said top wall; and means operatively connected atleast to one of said rings for raising and lowering both of said ringsso as to act through said upper and lower pairs of links on said wearplate means for displacing the latter inwardly toward or outwardly wayfrom said axis so as to control to the diameter of said continuous innerwall formed by said wear plate means and thereby the volume of said'inner space which is formed by said wear plate means,

and which is charged by said charging means.

7. In a shaft furnace as recited in claim 6, means operatively connectedto those plates of said wear plate means which are not connected to saidlinks for guiding them for movement with the plates which are connectedto said links toward and away from said axis in a manner which increasesor decreases the extent to which all of said plates overlap each other.

8. In a shaft furnace, in combination, an outer furnace wall surroundinga central axis of the furnace; a top wall connected to a top end of saidouter wall; wear plate means located within and surrounded by said outerwall, said wear plate means being constituted by a plurality ofindividual plates located closely adjacent to each other and distributedabout said axis and overlapping each other to form a substantiallycontinuous inner wall forming an inner space surrounding said axis;charging means for charging from above said inner space formed by saidwear plate means; a plurality of pairs, of upper links respectivelyhaving inner ends pivotally connected to at least every other one ofsaid plates, respectively, and outer ends pivotally connected directlyto said outer wall; a plurality of lower pairs of links respectivelysituated beneath said upper pairs of links and also having inner endspivotally connected to the plates to which said upper links areconnected and outer ends pivotally connected to said outer wall; aplurality of supporting links respectively having lower ends pivotallyconnected to the same plates to which said links are connected, saidsupporting links respectively having upper ends distant from said wearplate means; a ring surrounding said axis and pivotally connected tosaid upper ends of said supporting links; and means operativelyconnected to said ring for adjusting the elevation thereof so as toadjust the distance between said wear plate means and outer wall andthus regulate the diameter of the continuous inner wall formed by saidwear plate means and thereby the volume of said inner space which isformed by said wear plate means, and which is charged by said chargingmeans.

9. In a shaft furnace as recited in claim 8, guide means guiding saidring for vertical movement and preventing rotary movement thereof.

10. In a shaft furnace, in combination, an outer wall surrounding acentral axis of the furnace and a top wall connected to a top end ofsaid outer wall; wear plate means located within and surrounded by saidouter wall and constituted by a plurality of individual platesdistributed about said axis and located closely adjacent to each otherin overlapping relationship for forming a substantially continuous innerwall forming an inner space which surrounds said axis, said inner wallbeing surrounded by said outer wall; charging means for charging fromabove said inner space formed by said wear plate means; a plurality ofupper pairs of inner links respectively having inner ends pivotallyconnected respectively to at least every other one of said plates ofsaid wear plate means at surfaces thereof which are directed toward saidouter wall, said upper pairs of inner links having outer ends situatedbetween said wear plate means and said outer wall; a plurality of outerpairs of upper links respectively having inner ends pivotally connectedto said outer ends of said upper pairs of inner links, said upper pairsof outer links having outer ends pivotally connected directly to saidouter wall; a plurality of lower pairs of inner links respectivelysituated beneath said upper pairs of inner links and respectively havinginner ends pivotally connected to the same plates that said upper pairsof inner links are pivotally connected to, said lower pairs of innerlinks ha-ving outer ends situated between said wear plate means and saidouter furnace wall; a plurality of lower pairs of outer linksrespectively having inner ends pivotally connected to said outer ends ofsaid lower pairs I l of inner links and outer ends pivotally connecteddirectly to said furnace wall, said lower pairs of outer links beingrespectively situated beneath said upper pairs of outer links; aplurality of supporting links respectively having lower ends pivotallyconnected to upper ends of the plates to which said pairs of links areconnected, said supporting links respectively having upper endspivotally connected to said top wall of said furnace; and meansoperatively connected to the connections between said outer ends of saidinner links and said inner ends of said outer links for regulating theelevations of said connections so as to regulate the distance betweensaid wear plate means and said outer wall while controlling the diameterof the continuous inner wall formed by the overlapping plates of saidwear plate means and thereby the volume of said inner space which isformed by said wear plate means,

and also spaced from each other, said inner plates covering the gapsbetween said outer plates and engaging and overlapping said outer platesso that said outer and inner plates form a substantially continuousinner wall forming an inner space surrounding said axis, said inner wallbeing surrounded by and spaced from said outer. wall; charging means forcharging from above said inner space formed by said wear plate means;linkage means operatively connected only to said outer plates and tosaid outer wall for supporting said outer plates for movement toward andaway from said axis so as to adjust the diameter of the continuous innerwall formed by said inner and outer plates of said wear plate means andthereby the volume of said inner space which is formed by said wearplate means, and which is charged by said charging means; and meansmounting said inner plates on said outer plates While maintaining saidinner plates in overlapping engagement with said outer plates duringmovement of the latter toward or away from said axis when the extent ofoverlap between said inner and outer plates changes.

12. In a shaft furnace as recited in claim 11, said mounting meansincluding a plurality of pins fixed to said outer plates at surfacesthereof which are directed toward said outer wall of said furnace and aplurality of elongated horizontal members fixed to the surfaces of saidinner plates which are directed toward said outer wall, said horizontalmembers having downwardly directed edge portions resting on said pinsfor supporting said inner plates on said outer plates while providingfree sliding movement of said pins along said downwardly directed edgesof said horizontal members during movement of said outer plates towardand away from said axis.

13. In a shaft furnace as recited in claim 12, said horizontal membersbeing formed with horizontal slots receiving said pins and thedownwardly directed edges which engage said pins being the upper edgesof said slots, respectively.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,835,225 12/1931Knoringer et a1. 21418 3,009,691 11/1961 Tsujihata et al. 263-31 FOREIGNPATENTS 864,880 1/1953 Germany.

WILLIAM F. ODEA, Primary Examiner. JOHN J. CAMBY, Examiner.

1. IN A SHAFT FURNACE, IN COMBINATION, AN OUTER FURNACE WALL SURROUNDINGTHE AXIS OF THE FURNACE, WEAR PLATE MEANS INCLUDING A PLURALITY OFCIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED INNER INDIVIDUAL PLATES DISTRIBUTED ABOUT SAIDAXIS INWARDLY OF SAID OUTER WALL, AND A PLURALITY OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLYSPACED OUTER INDIVIDUAL PLATES DISPOSED INTERMEDIATE SAID OUTER WALL ANDSAID FIRST PLURALITY OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED INNER INDIVIDUALPLATES, AND BEING OF A SIZE ADEQUATE TO COVER THE GAPS EXISTING BETWEENTHE CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED INNER PLATE OF SAID FIRST PLURALITY AND TOPARTIALLY OVERLAP SAID PLATES THEREOF, SAID FIRST AND SECOND PLURALITYOF INDIVIDUAL PLATES THUS TOGETHER FORMING A SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUSINNER WALL FORMING AN INNER SPACE SURROUNDING SAID AXIS AND SURROUNDEDBY LAND SPACED FROM SAID OUTER WALL; CHARGING MEANS FOR CHARGING FROMABOVE SAID INNER SPACE FORMED BY SAID WEAR PLATE MEANS; AND MEANSOPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID INNER AND OUTER PLATES SO AS TO ENABLEMOVEMENT OF SAID PLATES PARALLEL TO THEMSELVES TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THECENTER OF SAID FURNANCE WHILE MAINTAINING SAID PLATES IN OVERLAPPINGRELATIONSHIP, AND THEREBY ADJUSTING THE VOLUME OF SAID INNER SPACEWITHIN SAID INNER WALL, WHICH INNER SPACE IN CHARGED BY SAID CHARGINGMEANS.